Canadian fire crews on Thursday battled to prevent wildfires from reaching the northern city of Yellowknife, where all 20,000 residents are leaving by car and plane after an evacuation order was declared.

Cathy Pope, a berry picker from Norman Wells, N.W.T., said there has been an abundance of blueberries this year, and that she's "never seen it like this." Despite the ample availability of fruit, thick wildfire smoke — some of the worst in the country, at times — has made it hard for Pope to go out and pick.

Behchokǫ̀, a community of about 2,000 people northwest of Yellowknife, issued an evacuation order shortly before 6 p.m Monday evening. A wildfire is burning about 25 kilometres to the east of the Behchokǫ̀, and 45 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. 

Grieving parents who lost their nine-year-old boy last week say their son died after a severe asthma attack made worse by wildfire smoke engulfing parts of British Columbia.

More properties have been ordered evacuated after high winds fanned a massive wildfire in northeastern British Columbia that is the second largest in the province's history.

The federal government is studying options for creating a new national disaster response agency as wildfires rage across places like Ottawa, Toronto, and other locations in Southern Canada.

“This is the first time that we’ve sent a crew to Canada in May,” said Lily Coyle with the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection.